TRENDING

Incoming

By Dawn S. Onley

Apr 14, 2005

EARLY INTEGRATION. Future military networks will be built jointly from the start, instead of relying on software built later to update and integrate legacy systems, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said recently.

The distinction can save lives on the battlefield by letting the services, interagency organizations and coalition partners communicate effectively, Air Force Gen. Richard Myers said during a keynote address at the Joint Forces Command Symposium 2005 in Portsmouth, Va.

'We could have saved lives if we had better command and control,' Myers told an audience consisting of military, academia and industry representatives. He was referring to operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. 'Our acquisition systems were not up to the task.'

For example, he said it currently takes a minimum of four to five people on average to make major milestone decisions on Defense programs. 'In my view, that's a problem,' he said.

Myers also said that the many joint task forces that have been assembled since Sept. 11, 2001, have had successes, but they've also been run mostly ad hoc and were set up quickly to deal with components of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.

Joint Forces Command is spearheading a Standing Joint Force Headquarters, which includes a team of IT specialists embedded in the various com- batant commands.

AIR FORCE ASSETS. The Air Force has awarded a five-year contract to Hewlett-Packard Co. to provide desktop PCs, notebooks and servers as part of the service's strategy to reshape asset management and reduce total cost of technology ownership.

The Desktops, Laptops, Servers Blanket Purchase Agreement allows the company direct bidding through the AFWay system or the Air Force's large quarterly enterprise buys for desktop and notebook PCs. The policy of the Air Force Office of the CIO is that planned desktop and notebook purchases must be bought through one of these two channels.

The agreement covers all non-ruggedized HP desktops, notebooks and tablet PCs. The BPA places no order limitations and open-market micropurchases are allowed.

The BPA is being managed by the Standard Systems Group at Gunter Annex-Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Ala.

The distinction can save lives on the battlefield by letting the services, interagency organizations and coalition partners communicate effectively, Air Force Gen. Richard Myers said during a keynote address at the Joint Forces Command Symposium 2005 in Portsmouth, Va.

'We could have saved lives if we had better command and control,' Myers told an audience consisting of military, academia and industry representatives. He was referring to operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. 'Our acquisition systems were not up to the task.'

For example, he said it currently takes a minimum of four to five people on average to make major milestone decisions on Defense programs. 'In my view, that's a problem,' he said.

Myers also said that the many joint task forces that have been assembled since Sept. 11, 2001, have had successes, but they've also been run mostly ad hoc and were set up quickly to deal with components of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.

Joint Forces Command is spearheading a Standing Joint Force Headquarters, which includes a team of IT specialists embedded in the various com- batant commands.

AIR FORCE ASSETS. The Air Force has awarded a five-year contract to Hewlett-Packard Co. to provide desktop PCs, notebooks and servers as part of the service's strategy to reshape asset management and reduce total cost of technology ownership.

The Desktops, Laptops, Servers Blanket Purchase Agreement allows the company direct bidding through the AFWay system or the Air Force's large quarterly enterprise buys for desktop and notebook PCs. The policy of the Air Force Office of the CIO is that planned desktop and notebook purchases must be bought through one of these two channels.

The agreement covers all non-ruggedized HP desktops, notebooks and tablet PCs. The BPA places no order limitations and open-market micropurchases are allowed.

The BPA is being managed by the Standard Systems Group at Gunter Annex-Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Ala.